Population and Demographics

With a population of 103,263,388 in 2005, Mexico is the most populous Spanish-speaking country in the world, the second-most populous country in Latin America (after Portuguese-speaking Brazil) and the second in North America (after the United States). Throughout most of the twentieth century Mexico's population was characterised by rapid growth. Even though this tendency has been reverted and average annual population growth over the last five years was less than 1%, the demographic transition is still in progress, and Mexico still has a large cohort of youths. The most populous city in the country is the capital city, Mexico City, with a population of 8.7 million (2005), and its metropolitan area is also the most populous in the country with 19.2 million (2005). Approximately 50% of the population lives in one of the 55 large metropolitan areas in the country.

Dynamics

Mexican annual population growth has drastically decreased from a peak of 3.5% in 1965 to 0.99% in 2005. Life expectancy in 2006 was estimated to be at 75.4 years (72.6 male and 78.3 female). The states with the highest life expectancy are Baja California (75.9 years) and Nuevo Leon (75.6 years). The Federal District has a life expectancy of the same level as Baja California. The lowest levels are found in Chiapas (72.9), Oaxaca (73.2) and Guerrero (73.2 years). The mortality rate in 1970 was 9.7 per 1000 people; by 2001, the rate had dropped to 4.9 men per 1000 men and 3.8 women per 1000 women. The most common reasons for death in 2001 were heart problems (14.6% for men 17.6% for women) and cancer (11% for men and 15.8% for women).

Mexican population is increasingly urban, with close to 75% living in cities. The five largest urban areas in Mexico (Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Puebla and Toluca) are home of 30% of the country's population. Migration patterns within the country show positive migration to north-western and south-eastern states, and a negative rate of migration for the Federal District. While the annual population growth is still positive, the national net migration rate is negative (-4.7/1000), attributable to the emigration phenomenon of people from rural communities to the United States.

Ethnography

Mexico is ethnically diverse, and the constitution defines the country to be a 'pluricultural nation'. Mestizo's (of both European and Amerindian ancestry) are the largest component, making 60-75% of the total population. The percentage of Amerindians in Mexico s is estimated between 11% (pure Amerindian) and 30% (predominantly Amerindian). Indigenous peoples are considered the foundation of the Mexican pluricultural nation and therefore enjoy self-determination in certain areas. Indigenous languages are also considered 'national languages' and are protected by law.

Europeans make up 10-15% of the population mostly descendants of the first Spaniard settlers, although some have German, French, Italian, Portuguese, Irish, Polish, Russian and British ancestry, after the waves of immigration that brought many Europeans at the end of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, along with some Euro-Americans from the United States. Mexico also received, during the same period, a significant number of Middle Eastern immigrants, mostly from Lebanon and Turkey. Mexico has also received a considerable number of Chinese and Korean immigrants in recent years. Afro-Mexicans, mostly of mixed ancestry, live in the coastal areas of Veracruz, Tabasco and Guerrero.

Immigration

During the 1970s and 1980s Mexico opened its doors to immigrants from Latin America, mainly political refugees from Argentina, Chile, Cuba, Peru, Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela and Central America. The PRI governments in power for most of the 20th century had a policy of granting asylum to fellow Latin Americans fleeing political persecution in their home countries. A second wave of immigrants has come to Mexico as a result of the economic crises experienced by some countries in the region. The Argentine community is quite significant estimated to be somewhere between 30,000 and 150,000.

The American Citizens Abroad Association has estimated that a little more than 1 million Americans live in Mexico (which represents 1% of the population in Mexico and 25% of all American citizens living abroad). This immigration phenomenon could well be explained by the interaction of both countries under NAFTA, but also by the fact that Mexico has become a popular destination for retirees, especially the small towns: just in the State of Guanajuato, in San Miguel de Allende and its environs, 200,000 Americans have their residence.

Emigration

The national net migration rate in Mexico is negative, estimated at -4.32 migrant per 1,000 population. The great majority of Mexican emigrants have moved to the United States of America. This migration phenomenon is not new, but has been a defining feature in the relationship of both countries for most of the twentieth century. Since World Wars I and II, the United States government approved the recruitment of Mexican workers in their territory, and tolerated unauthorized migration to obtain additional farm and industrial workers to fill the necessary spots vacated by the population in war, and to supply the increase in the demand for labour. Nonetheless, the United States, unilaterally ended the program as a result of civil rights groups. In spite of that, emigration of Mexicans continued throughout the rest of the century at varying degrees, but it grew significantly during the 1990s and has continued to do so in the first years of the 2000s. In fact, it has been estimated that 37% of all Mexican immigrants to the United States in the 20th century arrived during the 1990s. In 2000 approximately 20 million American residents identified themselves as either Mexican, Mexican-Americans or of Mexican origin, making it the sixth most cited ancestry of all US residents.

INEGI estimated in 2000 that about 8 million Mexican-born individuals live in the United States of America; that is 8.7% of total Mexican population. In that same year, the states with the greatest number emigrants to the United States were Jalisco (170,793), Michoacán (165,502) and Guanajuato (163,338), with the total number of emigrants being 1,569,157 the great majority of which were men. Approximately 30% of emigrants come from rural communities. That same year, only 260,650 emigrants returned to Mexico.

In spite of the improved economic conditions in Mexico and the growing interdependence of both countries the emigration of Mexicans to the United States has not slowed. While some argue that this is due to economic disparities between rural and urban, rich and poor populations, others suggest that the migration phenomenon is simply moving in inertia, as Mexican residents in the United States are now bringing their families who had stayed in Mexico.

Religion

Unlike some other Latin American countries, Mexico has no official religion, and the Constitution of 1917 and the anti-clerical laws marked a sharp separation between Church and State. The Mexican constitution does not require (not even as a formal convention) the president to profess Catholicism (and in fact, he was usually required not to manifest his beliefs publicly) and the government does not provide any financial contribution to the Church and the latter does not participate in public education. Until recently, priests did not have the right to vote, and even now, they cannot be elected for public office.

Nonetheless, the Mexican population is predominantly Roman Catholic (89%); in absolute terms, after Brazil, Mexico has the second largest population of Catholics in the world. About 6% of the population is Protestant, of which Penctecostals and Charismatics (called Neo-Pentecostals in the census), are the largest. Geographically, northern and central Mexico are mostly Catholic (where Protestants are usually less than 3% of the total population) whereas at the south-east, while still predominantly Catholic a little more than 15% of the population is either Protestant or non religious. Weekly church attendance is 46% of the Mexican population.

Facts and Figures

• Population: 107,449,525
• Age structure:
  • 0-14 years: 30.6% (male 16,770,957/female 16,086,172)
  • 15-64 years: 63.6% (male 33,071,809/female 35,316,281)
  • 65 years and over: 5.8% (male 2,814,707/female 3,389,599)
• Median Age:
  • Total: 25.3 years
  • Male: 24.3 years
  • Female: 26.2 years
• Population Growth Rate: 1.16%
• Birth Rate: 20.69 births/1,000 population
• Death Rate: 4.74 deaths/1,000 population
• Net Migration Rate: -4.32 migrant(s)/1,000 population
• Sex Ratio:
  • At birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  • Under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  • 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female
  • 65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female
  • Total population: 0.96 male(s)/female
• Infant Mortality Rate:
  • Total: 20.26 deaths/1,000 live births
  • Male: 22.19 deaths/1,000 live births
  • Female: 18.24 deaths/1,000 live births
• Life Expectancy at Birth:
  • Total population: 75.41 years
  • Male: 72.63 years
  • Female: 78.33 years
• Total Fertility Rate: 2.42 children born/woman
• HIV/AIDS:
  • Adult prevalence rate: 0.3%
  • People living with HIV/AIDS: 160,000
• Ethnic Groups:
  • Mestizo (Amerindian-Spanish) 60%
  • Amerindian or predominantly Amerindian 30%
  • White 9%
  • Other 1%
• Religions:
  • Nominally Roman Catholic 89%
  • Protestant 6%
  • Other 5%
• Languages:
  • Spanish
  • Various Mayan, Nahuatl, and other regional indigenous languages
• Literacy:
  • Total population: 92.2%
  • Male: 94%
  • Female: 90.5%